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Herbs to Heighten Ability to Have a ClimaxAnswered by: Robert Newman, L.Ac.Question from: No Name GivenPosted on: September 05, 2004

Subject: chinese herb to act as female viagra as seen on the news channel 7.

Having a problem; please send info on where and how to mix chinese herb teas that could give a heightened ability to get a climax.

Well, I am not familiar with which specific Chinese herb was mentioned on channel 7 news as female viagra, but I can give you the names of a couple of formulas and some single herbs that have been used traditionally in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to help with improving the sexual energy and function. This issue is generally attributed to the "Kidneys" being deficient: this is the Chinese medical concept of the Kidneys, not the western medical concept of the Kidneys. In TCM, the Kidneys are the source for all of the Yin and Yang of all the organs in the body and are the repository for the Essence. Furthermore, Giovanni Maciocia states that "Kidney Yin is the fundamental substance for birth, growth and reproduction while Kidney Yang is the motive force of all physiological processes." So generally speaking, the Kidneys are associated with our growth and development, sexual maturation, fertility, our marrow, the health of our bones, the healthy functioning of our brain, the healthy metabolism of fluids in our lower body (the lower torso and the organs present there), some aspects of our Lung, Heart and digestive system functioning, our hearing, our will power, and indirectly the production of our Blood -- so you can see that the Kidneys are considered to be responsible for many critical functions and processes, including the fire or Yang that provides for our sexual function (for additional information on the TCM idea of the function of the Kidneys and the concept of Yin and Yang, see my replies, "What Herbs and Other Approaches Can I Use for Uterine Prolapse?," and "Is There An Herb That Can Help Acid Reflux?," also found on the Chinese Q & A section on Richter’s website). So if the ability to climax is weak, generally the approach to treat this problem in TCM is to strengthen the Kidneys. However, this is a very tricky thing. One has to be careful to use the appropriate herbs for the correct aspect of the Kidneys that are weak: this can involve the Kidney Yang, Kidney Qi, or less commonly the Kidney Essence, typically, or any combination of those aspects. Also, one must be careful in using herbs which are also appropriate for the individual’s overall constitutional issues. This can be a big concern when using many of the herbs which strengthen the Kidneys. For example, a number of the herbs which tonify the Kidney Yang aspect are very warming/heating, so if the person tends to have too much heat in her system, then giving too many of those herbs can cause some problems. Also, a number of the herbs which tonify the Kidney Essence are fairly sticky and greasy and therefore very hard to digest, so if someone has problems with her digestion and tends to have too much dampness in her system, these herbs can cause a worsening of those issues. These are all reasons why it’s wiser to have someone who is a trained and licensed practitioner check your system, do an appropriate TCM diagnosis, write an appropriate herbal prescription, and monitor your responses and possibly revise the formula as needed.

Also, I want to mention one other idea that is very important in TCM. It is partly connected to the cautions I mentioned above about some of the Kidney-tonifying herbs being too heating or too greasy. I would strongly recommend that a formula is used rather than just one or two herbs to address this issue (or for that matter, most issues). It is very rare to use single herbs to treat a patient in TCM. It is done sometimes, but usually only for a very short time, for acute issues, or sometimes with herbs that are very gentle and mild and often can be used as both food and medicine (the herbs that are used for both food and medicine are used in that way partly because they are so gentle and moderate in their properties). Usually, in fact, a number of herbs are combined together into a formula. There are a number of good reasons for this. For one thing, if you use 2 or more herbs to address the main issue or problem (let’s say here, Kidney Yang deficiency, as an example), you can use less of each one of the herbs to get the same effect as using a higher dose of just one herb. This can avoid "side-effects" or a sensitivity reaction that may be caused by some compound or compounds in a particular single herb when the dosage is beyond a certain point for a particular patient It’s also possible for these several herbs to work even better than any single herb for the main problem, through the potential for synergism (this is where one or more herbs enhance each others’ effects when used together -- i.e., when the whole is greater than the sum of the parts). Also, some of the herbs used together for the same main function will almost always have some known secondary functions or benefits and there may be a usefulness from more than one of these herbs in addressing several secondary complaints that the patient also experiences. Additionally, one can include in a formula some assistant herbs that will balance out some of the harshness of the main herbs in the formula (such as including some cooling herbs that will balance out the strong heating properties of some Kidney Yang tonics, and that will also have some minor functions that will have benefits in other ways for a patient), or that will specifically address some secondary complaints or issues, or that will address the main complaint through another pathway (such as tonifying certain related organs to the main one or ones you are focusing on, in order to support that main organ through a tangential process: an example of this is to tonify the "Spleen," aka the digestive system’s function, in order to help nourish and strengthen the Kidneys through better absorption and assimilation of nutrients and therefore, better Qi and Blood production), or that will harmonize all the herbs in the formula to work together better, etc.

One common cause, for a weaker ability to climax, specifically, is a weakness of the Kidney Yang. If this aspect is deficient, in addition to less ability to climax, there can be symptoms such as amenorrhea (blocked menses), scanty menses, watery menses, systemic exhaustion -- often because of long term illness, a sensation of cold, a cold and heavy feeling in lower abdomen, withdrawal into oneself, cold extremities, sore and weak low back and lower extremities (worse with cold, better with heat), impotence, infertility, low libido, spermatorrhea, watery/excessive vaginal discharge, enuresis, frequent and copious clear urination (particularly at night), incontinence, edema, wheezing, and watery diarrhea that is without much odor and occurs early in the morning waking one urgently out of bed (there may also be undigested food present).

If the Kidney Qi, another part of the Kidneys, is deficient and weak, besides a lowered ability to climax, there may also be menses (the menarche) that don’t start until after 18 years of age, blocked menses (amenorrhea), irregular menses, dull and pale-colored menses, watery menses, repeated miscarriages, infertility, reduced sex drive, uterine prolapse, genital atrophy, lumbar pain with weakness in the lower legs, dizziness, low pitched tinnitus (ringing in the ears) which is chronic/constant, dark and dull facial complexion, dark circles under the eyes, dull hair which easily falls out, a lower abdomen which is cold and feels heavy, excessively frequent urination, nighttime urination (has to get out of bed to use the bathroom), and loose stools.

I have listed below a number of formulas/herbs that have been considered for use in the past for lowered ability to climax. Some or all of these formulas can probably be found on the internet or from some Chinese herb pharmacies. However, I feel it is important to preface the listing of these formulas with a caveat: even though these formulas are a mixture of herbs and they therefore have a more balanced effect than most single herbs, they were still created with the idea of treating specific imbalances in certain patients. What this means is that these are really meant to be employed after an appropriately individualized assessment of a patient -- through the process of determining a good match between a formula and a specific patient with particular imbalances and constitutional issues. Also, for those out there who are reading this, if one is not really having a problem with the ability to climax or having any imbalance or weakness present involving the Kidneys and the sexual function, but instead is trying to produce an excessively stronger climax through some external means, that may end up producing some undesirable side-effects. Again, using a formula that is truly appropriate for one’s specific system and one’s specific complaints is crucial in avoiding the likelihood of creating some imbalance in the system where there was none previously. Furthermore, a trained practitioner can give you the best advice on the dosages and frequency of use for any formula that she/he prescribes for you.

Jin Gui Shen Qi Wan ("gin gway shen chee wahn"): this is a general formula for strengthening the Kidneys:

To reiterate what was stated above, you should see a local TCM practitioner for advice specific to your condition. He or she will advise how Chinese herbs should be taken and which herbs or formulas would be best for your constitution and condition.

Richters sells seeds, plants, and dried herbs of some of the above-mentioned herbs if you are interested in growing your own herbs or making your own remedies.